Series, the development league of IndyCar. The aforementioned Brainerd International Raceway also hosts a 3-mile road course, which held a USAC race in 1969 among other events. Rally Rally America, based out of Golden Valley, holds an annual event in the woodlands near Bemidji. Known as the Ojibwe Forests Rally, the event is held near the end of August each year. Rally America also holds events in Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Colorado. X-Games superstar, Travis Pastrana, is a regular in the series. World of Outlaws There is a yearly World of Outlaws (WoO) sprint car event held at Princeton Raceway. Known as the PolyDome Princeton Nationals, the event is most likely held at the track due to WoO driver, Craig Dollansky, being from nearby Elk River. The 1/4 mile track leads to some exciting, action-packed racing. Athletics Minnesota has a long history with athletics which dates back to the early years as a state, when arena track racing and college track teams drew large crowds. As the cities and towns in the state of Minnesota grew in the 1890s, track and field events became popular at schools and colleges. The early Olympic competitions (especially the 1908 Summer Olympics) boosted the profile of the "marathon," a 26.2 mile road running distance, and Minnesota had its own runnings of the race before 1920. Minnesota is often touted as one of the healthiest states in America, which coincides with its strong base of road runners and high participation numbers in local road races. By the 1960s, future Olympian Ron Daws started the Land of Lakes Marathon in Minneapolis, which grew into the City of Lakes Marathon. Participation grew in the marathon while local smaller road races flourished. The City of Lakes grew into the Twin Cities Marathon, which first ran in 1982. The success of Olympian Garry Bjorklund and the speed of Minnesota's own Boston Marathon-legend Dick Beardsley prompted more growth in the sport in the North country near Duluth where the Grandma's Marathon first ran in 1977. It was named after the restaurant on Canal Park, not the gender and age of finishers. The race posted some of the fastest times in the United States, and it drew international racing competition to the North Shore. Now nearly every high school and college in the state offers cross-country and track and field teams for both genders. The state is also